Just in Time
by Jesus' girl 4ever
Summary: Clint kept checking his watch as he and Natasha flew back to SHIELD headquarters..."Tasha, I can't miss this. I promised Lila I'd be there if I could."


**Just In Time**

Disclaimer: I don't own.

Clint kept checking his watch as he and Natasha flew back to SHIELD headquarters, forcing the quinjet to go as fast as it could. "Clint, calm down. You've got time."

"Tasha, I can't miss this. I promised Lila I'd be there if I could."

His partner sighed. "I know, and you will be."

"We still have to land, debrief, and drive there. I won't be there in time."

"Then _I'll_ debrief while _you_ drive."

He snorted. "Yeah, right. Like Fury would led me walk out before I give him my report."

Natasha raised her eyebrows. "Fury is wrapped around your daughter's little finger, in case you haven't noticed. He'd do anything to make her happy, including let you leave without debriefing."

"You really think he will?"

"Yes. Especially if you just go and let me explain everything to him."

"Forgiveness, not permission?" he asked with a smirk.

"Exactly."

Finally, the wheels of the quinjet touched down. Almost the moment everything was shut down, Clint was running out to Natasha's car (it was closer than his, and they switched out when they needed to), leaving an exasperated Maria Hill in his wake (he'd let Tasha take care of her). He threw himself into the driver's seat, punched the gas, and got out of there.

 _ ***J*T***_

Lila sighed as she stood to go the piano. She had known that it was unlikely that her dad would make it to her recital, but she had held out hope. _He promised to try; I'm sure he did. It's not his fault._ She arranged her books and sat down, glancing at her teacher next to her. The door opening distracted her for a brief moment. She glanced up for a brief moment to see a man slip in, one with familiar dirty blond hair, a ripped and torn uniform with an eagle symbol on the arm, and sunglasses pulled low.

Lila's face lit up (though she tried to hide it) as the first notes of her and her teacher's duet rang out in the auditorium. _He came! He made it!_

Lila didn't mess up once, either in the duet or in her solo.

After she walked to the front of the stage and took a bow, she went back to her seat. Just before sitting down, she cast a quick glance back toward her dad. All she saw was the door swinging shut behind him.

 _ ***J*T***_

After the recital was over, Laura and Cooper congratulated and fussed over Lila as they got in the car. She was very proud of her perfect performance and, Laura realized, thankfully not too disappointed that her father hadn't been able to come. "Mama, can we stop at Wendy's for a Frosty?" Cooper asked hopefully.

"Not tonight, Coop." She sighed.

"Please?" they both begged.

"No, but you can have something sweet when you get home."

They huffed, but they seemed to accept the compromise.

When Laura pulled up to their house and saw Natasha's car in the driveway, her heart skipped a beat. _Oh, no. Clint!_

"Aunt Nat's here!" Cooper cheered. "But…what about Dad?"

Laura opened her mouth to answer him, but Lila beat her to it. "Maybe it's Dad, just in her car. They switch sometimes, right, Mom?"

She nodded. "Right, baby. That might be it." Still, she didn't get her hopes up too much…at least until the door swung open and a voice called out, "There's my beautiful little pianist!"

" _Daddy!"_ Lila ran to him, flinging her arms around his neck. "I'm so glad you made it tonight!"

"I'm glad, too," he said, carefully picking her up. "You were wonderful, sweetheart."

"I didn't mess up at all!"

"Like I said, wonderful." He reached down with one hand to ruffle Cooper's hair. "Hey, sport."

He hugged him, too. "Hi, Dad!"

Laura came over and kissed his cheek. "Hello, handsome."

"Hi, gorgeous."

"You should have heard her. Lila was excellent."

"He did, though!" Lila interrupted. "He was there!"

Her brow furrowed. "You were?"

He nodded, but Lila answered verbally. "Yes! He came in right as I started playing and left as soon as I was done, but he was there!"

He winked. "Well, I had to leave. You see, there was a tub of Extreme Moose Tracks that I thought our star (and her brother) might enjoy."

Both kids shrieked happily and rushed into the kitchen. Clint wrapped his arm around Laura's shoulders. "Thank you for hurrying," she whispered.

"Well, Nat's really the one you should be thanking. She volunteered to debrief alone so I could make it on time."

Laura nodded. "I'll thank her the next time I see her."

He squeezed her shoulders. "Now, there was also a tub of cookie dough ice cream that called your name…"

She laughed as they went in the house. "My hero!"

(Meaning, of course, more than just in regard to ice cream.)

(Though, the ice cream was pretty good, too.)

 _A/N: So, this is my first MCU story, and the only movie I've seen is The Avengers, so sorry if anyone's really OOC! But I've seen enough clips to know that I ship Clintaura (which I think sounds better than Claura….)._


End file.
